


Little Blessings

by grelleswife



Series: Kuroshitsuji Underappreciated Characters Week 2020 [1]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Curry, Divine power, Fluff, M/M, Soft boys being soft, Soma gets a happy ending and finds salvation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26353852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grelleswife/pseuds/grelleswife
Summary: Soma is a blessing to those around him, even if he doesn't always realize it.Featuring curry buns, soft bois in love, and bonding moments with London street urchins.
Relationships: Soma Asman Kadar/Finnian
Series: Kuroshitsuji Underappreciated Characters Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1915006
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Little Blessings

**Author's Note:**

> As is typical with me, there's a fair amount of canon divergence. In this AU, Soma found the light again after his inner turmoil in the wake of Agni's death and allied himself with the Phantomhive household to defeat R!Ciel and Undertaker. He and Finnian are in an established relationship, and Finny lives with him at the townhouse (since we're a few years post-canon, they're in their early twenties here).
> 
> I'm not sure if my description of the Kali powers passing from Agni to Soma is entirely accurate, so I apologize in advance for any inaccuracies!

Soma took a step back, placed his hands on his hips, and grinned at the dozens of curry buns neatly laid out on the trolleys. He and Finny had been busy in the kitchen all morning, and his right hand still tingled with the divine power that had guided him as he picked the choicest spices for their young guests.

“They’re perfect!” Finny exclaimed, capturing the prince in a hug that lifted his feet off the floor. “You did an amazing job, Soma! Look how many you made this time!”

Soma was quick to return the embrace. “ _We_ did an amazing job, silly! It’s a lot easier when I have my assistant with me,” he corrected his lover.

Finny kissed Soma on the forehead before setting him back down.

“But your hand of Kali is what makes the curry heavenly. Like…like a miracle.”

Soma blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

Oh! Speaking of…

“Would you mind helping me with my bandages, _jaanu_?”

Soma had become more adept at channeling Kali’s grace over the years, but you couldn’t be too careful. Finny picked up the pile of linen that lay in a messy heap on the counter, took Soma’s hand in his, and gently, with the greatest of care, began to wrap it. The prince smiled. Finny had gained better control of his inhuman strength, but he still fretted over making sure it didn’t inadvertently hurt others. That sweetness was one of the things Soma loved about him.

“There we go,” Finny said after putting the last scrap of cloth in place.

“Thank you!” Soma trilled, nodding in approval. “I think we’re ready.”

Without further ado, they wheeled the trolleys out to the front room, though Finny insisted on dealing with the heaviest ones. After a couple of trips to and from the kitchen, they hastily set everything up. Then, Soma flung the front doors open to let the sunshine in. When he looked up at the clear blue sky, he silently thanked the gods for the beautiful weather. Bright, airy…a perfect day for the children to visit. After lingering a second longer to admire the view, he walked back over to the long table piled high with curry buns and stood expectantly behind it next to Finny.

“They’ll be here any minute now,” he remarked.

And then, as if summoned by the prince’s words, a crowd of grubby, gap-toothed children poured into the building. Many wore patched and threadbare clothes, most were barefoot, and a few were pitifully thin and hollow-cheeked. The sight made Soma’s heart ache. However, the street urchins’ eyes shone with a youthful excitement that poverty, for all the hardship it inflicted upon them, could not eradicate from their souls.

“It’s the curry man!” they cheered, hailing Soma like he was Father Christmas bearing gifts from the North Pole. In a matter of seconds, they’d descended upon the table, and Finny and Soma got to work distributing curry buns. This might be the only meal some of these children had today, and the prince didn’t want to send anyone away hungry.

“Thank you, Mister Soma!” a young, freckle-faced boy lisped when he received his curry.

A slightly taller boy who might have been his big brother scolded him. “Oi! ‘e’s a prince. You gotta call ‘im _Prince_ Soma, you dummy!”

The little boy shrank back, and he cowered before Soma like a puppy about to be kicked for misbehaving. Soma gave him a reassuring pat on the head.

“It’s okay! Titles aren’t as big a deal as grownups make them out to be. At the end of the day, I’m a person just like you. You can call me whatever you want! Soma is fine.”

The child beamed at him.

“C-can we be fwends, Soma?” he asked timidly.

“Of course we can!” the prince replied, reaching down to shake the boy’s free hand that wasn’t clutching a curry bun. “You know my name—what’s yours?”

The boy bashfully glanced at the floor before answering.

“Thomas. But my fwends call me Tommy.”

“Well, Tommy, it’s very nice to meet you.”

Soma’s new friend and his brother waved goodbye before disappearing into the throng.

The prince had spent hours toiling away in the kitchen, and the exhaustion was beginning to catch up with him. More than once, he found himself stifling a tired yawn. He’d need a nap after this for sure.

But Soma couldn’t begrudge these children. He looked out over the sea of contented faces, heard the happy giggles of little ones who would be spared from a day of privation and hunger, and knew that the effort was worth it.

Gradually, the ragamuffin band dispersed, munching on their curry buns. However, a few stragglers remained. They were eager to play with “Uncle Finny,” who was always happy to give them piggyback rides or join in a game of tag.

Soma watched them fondly, but then gave a start when he felt a touch on his arm. A young woman stood before him, with two little girls clinging to her skirts.

She grabbed his hands and bowed her head in reverence.

“I…I hope I’m not bein’ overly familiar, sir…but I wanted t’ thank you for everything you’ve done.”

Soma blinked rapidly.

“Thank you for the kind words. I don’t do all that much, though…not nearly as much as I should!” he stammered. When there was so much suffering in the world, his puny acts of kindness must barely make a dent.

Undeterred, the woman shook her head.

“It may not seem like a lot t’ you, sir, but…but it’s a whole heapin’ lot t’ us. We ‘ad a bloody awful time of it this past winter. Sometimes there was nothin’ t’ eat for days on end. We scavenged the rich folks’ garbage like gutter rats…but no matter ‘ow bad things got, we could always count on a good meal if we came ‘ere.”

Her voice cracked and wavered.

“My girls might’ve starved without yer curry, sir. I’ll never forget that. Yer like one o’ the Lord’s angels.”

Soma stood dumbstruck. He wasn’t worthy of such high praise! Before he could stutter out a reply, however, or even a simple thank you, the woman relinquished her grip and gave him one last smile before taking her leave, the girls toddling behind her.

“No, _you_ ask ‘im!”

The prince turned to his left, where a gaggle of children whispered together in a circle.

“I don’t wanna.”

“C’mon, Sally, ‘e’s a nice bloke! ‘e ain’t gonna bite yer ‘ead off or nuthin’.”

“Okay, okay…”

A scruffy redhead broke off from the group and hesitantly approached Soma.

“How can I help you?” he asked with what he hoped was a friendly smile.

She fidgeted, then screwed up her courage and pointed at his right hand. “Um…m-my mates an’ I were wonderin’ about yer hand. Coz it’s always bandaged up, but you use it just fine. Does it have a big scar or summat?”

Soma laughed and walked around the table to crouch down next to Sally.

“Oh no, don’t worry. It’s nothing like that! This hand has been blessed by Kali,” he explained, holding it out to her.

She tilted her head. “Ka-lee? Oo’s that?” 

“In India, where I come from, we worship different gods than you do here in England. One of these is the goddess Kali. She possesses great power to destroy the forces of evil, but she’s also a holy mother who protects us.”

“So this Kali lady gave ya…magic powers?” Sally’s eyes widened in awe, and she leaned closer, enthralled.

“Well…something like that! Though really, the gift was passed down to me from my khansama…or butler, as the English say. His name was Agni.”

Soma paused to swallow around a tightness in his throat. Though the bitter wounds left by Agni’s passing had slowly healed, that pain would always linger below the surface.

“What was this Agni person like?” one of Sally’s friends asked. At some point, the other children had drifted over, and Soma found himself facing a captive audience.

“He was the kindest man I’ve ever known. In many ways, he was more of a father to me than my own father, the king of Bengal…”

Before he knew it, Soma was telling them how he saved Agni from certain execution, how they journeyed across the sea to London, and how he had become friends with one of the most feared men in all of England—the Queen’s Watchdog. He regaled the children with tales of their adventures, but his voice grew somber as he described Agni’s death.

“This townhouse was invaded by Ciel’s enemies, who meant us harm. They tried to slash me to bits with a knife. Agni…sacrificed his life to save mine.” His shoulders slumped beneath the weight of his grief.

Cries of dismay burst from some of the children.

“An’ after ‘is death, you got the blessing next?” asked Sally, whose expression had turned quiet and thoughtful.

“That’s right!” Soma said with forced cheerfulness. He shouldn’t revisit those dark memories for too long.

“If I take off these bandages, I can use Kali’s power to fight bad people and stop them from committing wicked deeds. In the kitchen, it helps me make delicious curry for all of you!”

“Oooo!!! So that’s why the curry’s yummy! It’s magic!” one of the younger boys squealed.

“Blessed by the goddess. But that’s basically it,” Soma chuckled.

“Will the Kali powers ‘urt us any if we touch your bandages?” another child piped up.

Soma grinned as he saw where this was going. “Nope! Would you like to?”

“Please, sir!”

“Yeah!!!”

“I wanna touch the magic bandages first—I’m the oldest!”

Soon, every child had laid a hand on Soma’s bindings, filled with curiosity and wonder.

“I’m gonna be strong enough to beat any bully who tries to mess with me. I got special powers now!” a boy crowed.

“Ah, I do not believe it works like that—” Soma tried to interject, but the urchins were too caught up in their excitement to pay him heed. They soon bounded away to the streets, after bidding him farewell with a quick, "Thank you for the curry!" However, Sally stayed behind. After an awkward silence, she laid her hand (too frail and slight for a girl her age) over his right one.

“I’m sorry about your khan—uh, your butler, Prince Soma. You looked really sad when you told us about what ‘appened to ‘im. But just think! You’ve got that power of ‘is now, so it’s like a part of ‘im is livin’ inside you. An’…’e’s still with you, that way!”

Growing bashful, Sally ducked her head, turned on her heel, and ran off to rejoin her friends.

The prince slowly got to his feet. Though he stared after the girl, he could barely see her through the veil of tears cast over his eyes. It was harder to keep his sorrow at bay without someone to put on a brave face for.

“What’s wrong?”

In an instant, Finny’s arms were around him. His young playmates must have left while Soma was distracted by Sally's group.

“What happened, Soma?”

“I w-was talking with some of the little ones…about this power I have, and about Agni…” he sniffled, trembling as he tried his damnedest not to cry. “E-even after all this time…I miss him _so much_.”

Finny stroked Soma’s hair. “Of course you do. Mr. Agni loved you more than anyone. It’s okay to miss people you’ve lost, and to cry for them, no matter how much time has passed. Bard told me that once.”

A few tears finally escaped to run down Soma’s cheeks.

“He should be the one here now, not me. I didn’t deserve to be the one who lived. I’m not worthy of Kali’s blessings.”

“Don’t say things like that!” Finny cried, hugging him tighter. “Mr. Agni would be so proud of you. I know he would!”

“But I’m not half the man he was…compared to him, I’ve accomplished very little,” Soma protested.

Finny took a step back and held Soma’s right hand, intertwining their fingers. “It’s like what I heard that lady telling you earlier—your actions may not seem like much to you, but they make all the difference to the people around you. Even little blessings can mean the world to someone.”

Soma stammered, “B-but…”

“You’re more than a ray of light—you’re the sun,” Finny whispered. And looking into those loving green eyes, Soma almost believed it.

**Author's Note:**

> jaanu: (Hindi) sweetheart


End file.
